


One Foot In The Grave, Other On The Ground

by HellishSam



Category: Star Stable
Genre: M/M, idk I'm sure everyone's gone to Pandoria by now but ya never know, possibly?, story spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 09:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17221310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellishSam/pseuds/HellishSam
Summary: Daine's first trip to Pandoria.





	One Foot In The Grave, Other On The Ground

**Author's Note:**

> Extremely inspired by the Pvris song called Half

Daine never expected to be face to face with Darko. He also never expected to look the way he did. Once he had went through the portal he went through the painful process of transforming into what could only be described as a monster. Ivory horns that curled, fur all over his body, large fangs that poked out from under his lips, and a pair of cream-colored wings. Just to name a few.

He growled as Darko approached him, his cane by his side, even though he obviously didn’t need it. Darko simply smirked up at him, resting both hands on the cane in front of him. Daine was smaller than Darko usually, but here he seemed to almost grown another foot taller.Finally paying attention, Daine noticed Darko was coming to the end of his villain monologue. About how Anne was going to be used. What their master plan was. The hell was he supposed to say next?

“... and finally, even though Garnok will be out soon enough, it seems like he finally has a new friend to play with.” The man’s smirk widened.

“The fuck do you mean new friend? Haven’t you done enough to Anne?” Daine spat, gritting his teeth, letting out a growl from deep in his throat.

Darko only chuckled, shaking his head. Daine furrowed his brow in confusion. What the hell was this crazy man on about? Who else would he be talking about? His questions were answered when tentacles rose from the ground, making him lose his footing. Before he could say anything, Darko was gone and he was left by himself and Cloud. Though Cloud was too far away for him to pick Daine up quick enough.

Daine’s eyes were wide in horror as he faced the tentacles. Garnok was real. All of this was really real. He could almost just stand there frozen in fear but he was knocked out of his trance once one of the tentacles wrapped around his leg. Daine let out a scream as his claws made marks on the rocks that were once underneath him as he was dragged to the edge. He wasn’t going to die again. He wouldn’t allow it. Igniting his hand, he pressed it to the tentacle and got up, running for his life.

Cursing his way along, Daine ducked and dove all around Pandoria. It was all so confusing. Daine had no idea where the hell he was or where he was going. All that was on his mind was getting out of the way of that monster or… whatever it was! He didn’t dare look back behind him. He knew if he did his fate would be to stay in this hell world.

Finally, he came to the edge of the island. His lungs burned. His legs shook with both terror and pure adrenaline. Daine stared into the deep abyss. The young man could hear hell coming for him. Though, another sound caught his attention. Across from the other island stood Cloud, he was whinnying and running in all different directions, trying to get his rider’s attention. Daine couldn’t make out what he was saying but he got the gesture once Cloud brought his wings out.

Daine looked behind him. Garnok was here. Sucking in air, Daine took a running start towards his leap of faith. His feet left the ground and he opened his new wings. He wasn’t sure how to use them but at least he could maybe glide a little. Cloud then jumped after him. Daine reached out to his companion but was cut short by a searing pain that raptured his body. A sharp scream came from his lungs as he fell.

Daine couldn’t see anything, his hair was whipping around as he fell, faster and faster. He could obviously feel that his wings were gone. He was finally able to twist himself into seeing that Cloud was racing after him, though, his horse wasn’t fast enough. Daine tried to reach out but he hit the hard, solid ground of one of the islands.

Right as his body collided with the solid ground, Daine was out like a glass hitting the floor.

Of course, it wasn’t long until he was in the blackness of his mind. Though, it felt different now. It was darker, like something had corrupted him. Breathing heavy, Daine turned around, scared something was going to jump out at him from the black. And something did indeed.

A loud chuckle erupted from all around him, leaking from the black. It was so loud that Daine fell to his knees, clutching his ears and biting so hard down on his teeth, he swore he chipped a tooth.

“Ah, so even monsters are scared of monsters. How pathetic. Look at you, curling up like a baby. No wonder you weren’t strong enough.” The deep voice spoke, its tone seeming to have multiple layers.

Daine slowly got to his feet, shaking and feeling dizzy. “What do you mean? What am I?”

The voice let out another deep chuckle, this one creepier than the last, making Daine’s skin crawl with cold.

“You really don’t know what you are? Look at yourself.” And just like that, Daine was turned into the creature he was when he entered through the portal. Daine examined himself a little closer this time, his entire being shaking. He really was a monster. Daine put his hand down as he turned back to looking like a normal human.

“You’re a monster. You are no different from the creature you attempted to run from. You don’t belong. You’ll always be the outcast no matter where you run to.” As the voice spoke, more tentacles rose from the ground, surrounding Daine. Visions of his friends suffering was shown in front of his eyes. All of them screaming at him to help. But he was frozen. He couldn’t move. All he could do was watch.

“No, no! This isn’t happening! I’m not a monster! This is all a dream! I can wake up!” Daine yelled over the noise, turning around and attempting to run. But again, he was stopped by the beast who clipped his wings. Daine let out a screech as the tentacle curled around his body and lifted him, its grip getting tighter and tighter as it twisted down his body. Rage coursed through Daine’s body. Quickly, the fangs, claws, and horns were appearing.

Somewhere in a tent far away, a magician could feel that something was wrong, very wrong. Thankfully, he didn’t have a show today, but he did decide to dress up regardless. Though today might have been a bad idea for that as he felt something making him feel sick. Something had happened in his homeland. The hell was that monster up to now?

Ydris carefully stepped into the back room of the circus tent and opened a portal. He wouldn’t be there long, he just needed to see what was going on. How much damage was being done. Fixing his coat a little, Ydris stepped into Pandoria.

He cracked his neck, using a bit more of his magic to make sure his mask didn’t slip too much. The showman had grown to like his new look. It attracted plenty of visitors. He had never really known what it was like to break someone’s will with just a simple wink or lick of the lips. It was truly amazing how desperate mortals were to feel loved. But there was one type of mortal in particular that made him feel different. He found himself preferring those with a similar build and… parts of him. Especially one that went by the name of Daine. Though now, he tried to push him out of his mind. He had a plan to go through with and didn’t have time to care for a mortal. Besides, it would never work.

Ydris hadn’t expected his current thought to lay in front of him a few feet away. Suddenly, his walls crumbled. There stood a grey horse with brilliant wings. And a body. Ydris’ blood ran cold, sending chills through his body as he walked faster, moving into a jog. He swallowed hard, trying to will his anxiety to disappear. This wasn’t supposed to happen. What was Daniel doinghere? What had happened to him?

He gasped as he turned Daine over with a shaking hand, seeing the giant scar on his back. It pulsed pink and gushed slightly. Daine wasn’t supposed to be here. No mortal could survive in Pandoria. Ydris was snapped out of his thoughts by the sad look of Daine’s horse, Cloud. The horse had nudged him, giving him a pathetic look, almost as if he was asking for help. Of course the young warmblood didn’t know what to do in a situation like this. Gathering his thoughts, Ydris picked Daine up. He was so light that it scared him even further. How far gone was Daine? How long had he been here? What… marked him up so horridly? And how much time did he have?

Ydris quickly turned around, walking back to the portal as quickly as he could, the grey horse following behind. Once back into the world of Jorvik, Ydris teleported both him and Daine back into the wagon. The magician’s eyes widened with horror as Daine’s wound began to bleed even more.

“Shit, shit, shit!” He muttered, laying Daine down, wiping the pink blood on his suit and rushing over to his book shelf. The showman tore the shelves apart, books landing on the floor everywhere as he shredded through the pages looking for the right spell. Ydris knew he was working on borrowed time. Daniel was slowly giving in to the tempting voice of death. He didn’t know why but he couldn’t let that happen. Yes, if a Keeper died, it would help his plan along. But not this one. This one could not go into the afterlife like this.

Finally, he found the right spell and rushed back over to Daine. Ydris pressed his palms to Daine’s chest, pulsing magic into him, trying to heal the scar as best he could. It wasn’t a lot, but it would help. Ydris sighed as he sat down in the chair next to the bed, taking his hat off and wiping his brow. The panic was finally over. He could see the color returning to Daine’s skin. Looking at the mortal, he noticed the young man had little pink cracks all over his body. What had Pandoria done to him? Ydris’ heart ached as he got up to get bandages.

He had wrapped the areas that had the worst wounds. Daine’s arms, palms, chest, and back were soon wrapped in white, thankfully, stopping the bleeding. Ydris was no stranger to Daine. He had never really slept with the mortal, but he had helped him get over his nightmares. Maybe that’s why he was so close to him. He could never be in love. It was impossible and that was just fact. But the magician couldn’t help but let his eyes linger on Daine’s face. He looked so handsome. So beautiful.

The next thing Ydris knew was that he was leaning down and pressing his lips to Daine’s. They were so soft. The magician was surprised to find a tear was slipping down his own cheek. He really had fallen for a mortal, hadn’t he? But part of him didn’t care. Maybe he’d find a way for Daine to stay with him. Maybe these feelings would go away.

But he knew for sure he didn’t want his burning light to go out. His darling phoenix would rise again. Just like he always did.


End file.
